Peter Weill

The implications of information technology infrastructure for business process redesign

Business process redesign (BPR) is a pervasive but challenging tool for transforming organizations. Information technology plays an important role by either enabling or constraining successful BPR. This paper explores the links between firm-wide IT infrastructure and business process change. IT infrastructure is the base foundation of the IT portfolio, which is shared throughout the firm in the form of reliable services, and is usually coordinated by the IS group. IT infrastructure capability includes both the technical and managerial expertise required to provide reliable physical services and extensive electronic connectivity within and outside the firm.Exploratory case analysis of four firms (two in retail and two in petroleum) was used to understand the ways IT infrastructure contributes to success in implementing BPR. The finding was that all firms needed a basic level of IT infrastructure capability to implement BPR. The firms that had developed a higher level of IT infrastructure capabilities, before or concurrent with undertaking business process redesign, were able to implement extensive changes to their business processes over relatively short time frames. The higher level of infrastructure capability was provided in the form of (1) a set of infrastructure services that spanned organizational boundaries such as those between functions, business units, or firms, and (2) the ability of the infrastructure to reach particular constituencies inside and outside the firm to transfer information and process complex transactions.The more extensive business process changes were more innovative and radical, crossing business and functional unit boundaries, and resulted in more significant business impact. The practical implication of the study is that before embarking on any form of BPR, managers should complete a business audit of their IT infrastructure capabilities, as these capabilities have an important impact on the speed and nature of business process change.

Managing investment in information technology; mini case examples and implications

While businesses are investing enormous resources in information technology (IT), there little evidence linking IT investment to organizational performance. The purpose of this article, therefore, is to increase understanding of the basis for IT investment in firms. Six mini case studies of companies in five different industries address questions of how they define IT for the purpose of determining the level of investment, how they track IT investments, and what other factors influence IT investment decisions. Each organization uses a different definition of IT, but there appears to be an overall trend to broaden the definition. Although companies track IT investment with varying degrees of rigor, they appear to be generally moving toward centralized tracking of all IT investment. Political considerations are important and significantly impact investment decisions. In all cases, the effectiveness with which IT investment is converted to useful output is acknowledged to be affected by the implementation process, the culture of the organization, and the skill of management. Three ma/or implications for practi~bners responsible for IT investment are: the need to adopt a broad definition of IT and track it over time against a convenient base; the need to separate different types of investment and match them to appropriate organizational performance measures; and the need to take into account factors such as management commitment and previous experience with IT. The latter impacts the effectiveness with which the firm converts it investment into. useful outputs.

An assessment of the contingency theory of management information systems

Abstract:This paper explores the use of contingency theory in the field of Management Information Systems (MIS). The development of contingency theory in MIS is compared to the development of organization theory. The assumptions of fit, performance as a dependent variable, rational actors, and a deterministic model in both organizational research and MIS research are critiqued. The dominant influence of contingency theory is demonstrated through a review of empirical studies published in JMIS and MIS Quarterly. Of the 177 articles during the period studied, 59 percent were empirical and over 70 percent of these were judged to follow a contingency model. Based on our assessment of this research, we conclude that research in MIS has been hampered by the use of a naive meta-theory, conflicting empirical results with low explained variance, ill-defined concepts of performance and fit, and a narrow perspective of researchers. We give some recommendations for improving the theoretical basis of MIS, including ad...

An evaluative framework for research on the performance effects of information technology investment

Firms today invest enormous resources in information technology with the hope of gaining significant returnswhich will impact their performance. A growing body of research into the firm performance effects of IT investmenthas emerged and is sometimes referred to as IT business value research. The problem researchers face is identifyingrobust methods to gain insight into how IT business value is created. This paper reports on the state of IT businessvalue research by reviewing thirteen empirical studies. It also proposes a new evaluative framework to identifystrengths and weaknesses in this research. The paper concludes with a series of recommendations to improve thequality of future IT business value research.

Strategic context and patterns of IT infrastructure capability

Abstract The importance of a firms information technology (IT) infrastructure capability is increasingly recognised as critical to firm competitiveness. Infrastructure is particularly important for firms in industries going through dynamic change, for firms reengineering their business processes and for those with multiple business units or extensive international or geographically dispersed operations. However, the notion of IT infrastructure is still evolving and there has been little empirically based research on the patterns of IT infrastructure capability across firms. We develop the concept of IT infrastructure capability through identification of IT infrastructure services and measurement of reach and range in large, multi-business unit firms. Using empirical case research, we examine the patterns of IT infrastructure capability in 26 firms with diverse strategic contexts, including different industry bases, level of marketplace volatility, extent of business unit synergies and the nature of firm strategy formation processes. Data collection was based on a combination of quantitative and qualitative methods with multiple participants. More extensive IT infrastructure capability is defined as a combination of more IT infrastructure services and more reach and range. More extensive IT infrastructure capability was found in firms where: (i) products changed quickly; (ii) attempts were made to identify and capture synergies across business units; (iii) there was greater integration of information and IT needs as part of planning processes; and (iv) there was greater emphasis on tracking the implementation of long term strategy. These findings have implications for both business and technology managers particularly in regard to how firms link strategy and IT infrastructure formation processes.

Assessing the health of an information systems applications portfolio: an example from process manufacturing

This paper presents a model of the IS applications portfolio, and illustrates how its health can be assessed, through an example from process manufacturing. The health assessment is based on an evaluation by senior managers of a business units portfolio of information systems. This assessment is made on five separate, but related, attributes of each system in the portfolio: importance, investment, technical quality, use, and management value.The Health Grid is introduced as a way of representing the IS applications portfolio in order to facilitate the assessment and interpretation of its health. One of the advantages of using the grid is to make such an assessment explicit, transparent, and discussible. In an example, the Health Grid is used to assess and interpret the IS applications portfolio of the most profitable business unit in a large process manufacturing firm. The applications portfolio, consisting of 18 systems, was generally assessed as requiring attention. For example, there was no evidence of any relationship between the investment in a given system and its management value. The paper includes a suggested approach for using the Health Grid and an analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of the approach. A description of the changes made to the IS portfolio in the example firm after the initial data collection completes the paper.

Global IT management: structuring for scale, responsiveness, and innovation

To succeed on a global scale, businesses should focus on a trio of key elements.

Strategic dependence on the IT resource and outsourcing: A test of the strategic control model

Using resource dependency theory (RDT), this research analyzes how organizations control their information technology resources to improve organizational performance. According to RDT, organizations must manage their dependency on external organizations and limit external dependencies when resources are considered critical. The current study proposes and tests a portion of a Strategic Control Model positing that managers seek to control important, strategic resources in order to create value for the firm and to avoid dependency on external entities. Utilizing a research design that captured extensive quantitative data on the control of IT functions and services, the research team gathered 5xa0years of data on 54 business units (BUs) in 27 global companies located in seven countries. Study examined the linkages of these 54 BUs to firm performance. Locating the Extent of Control within the firm in cases where the firm depends on IT as a strategic resource proves to be a good explanation for effective decisions leading to higher performance. Viewing IT as a strategic resource alone does not lead to positive business unit outcomes, but the moderating influence of Extent of Control is found to establish the complex statistical relationship with business unit performance. For these reasons, it is critical that a theoretically grounded firm-wide process for decisions on locating IT control is in place to capture business value.

Manufacturing and technology strategy: a survey of planning for AMT

Abstract Planning for investments in advanced manufacturing technology (AMT) is one of the most difficult areas for manufacturing managers. A balancing of the need to create competitive advantage and the ability to fund the investment is required. This paper explores the challenges associated with planning new AMT investments and reports the experiences of 61 manufacturing firms. The paper describes the planning process adopted by the manufacturers regarding their investments in AMT. The differences existing between companies, industries and technologies are established. Finally the paper compares actual practice with a conceptual model of AMT decision-making, identifying key implications for practice.

Optimizing your digital business model

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